If I Were Told the Future - Lesson 42

The Great Star Fallen from Heaven

As we study the seven trumpets, we notice that their messages use a symbolism whose key can be found only in Your inspired Word.

Please enlighten us once again by Your Holy Spirit, so that our understanding of the trumpets may not rest on human interpretations, but rather on the Bible, our only rule of faith.

In the precious name of Jesus Christ our Savior we pray.

Amen.

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Revelation 8:8,9

And the second angel sounded.

And as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; and the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.

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In our last lesson, we have seen that the burning mountain cast into the sea symbolizes a kingdom overthrown by the nations.

As foretold, the Western Roman Empire, an unrepentant oppressor of God’s people, wasn’t able to resist the attacks of the Barbarian tribes, and fell in A.D. 476.

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Revelation 8:10,11

And the third angel sounded.

And there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell on the third part of the rivers, and on the fountains of waters.

And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

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What happened next? The third trumpet announces the following events, in a symbolic language that we must first decode.

Fortunately, the Word of God will once again give us all the keys we need.

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Revelation 8:10

And the third angel sounded.

And there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp.

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Revelation 1:20

The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches.

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First, the third trumpet describes a bright star falling from heaven. What does this star represent?

The book of Revelation indicates that a star symbolizes an angel. So, was there a bright angel who fell from heaven?

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Luke 10:18

[Jesus] said to them, «I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.»

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Isaiah 14:12 [NRSV]

How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn!

How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low!

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The morning star, the great star fallen from heaven is none other than Satan.

What does the Bible say about the circumstances which led to the fall of Satan on earth?

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Isaiah 14:12-15

How are you fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How are you cut down to the ground, which did weaken the nations!

For you have said in your heart,

«I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also on the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.»

Yet you shall be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

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All began when Lucifer, a powerful angel of God whose name means «Bearer of Light», allowed pride to invade him.

When he decided to covet the place of God, he then became Satan, a name which means «Adversary».

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Revelation 12:4,7-9

The tail [of the dragon] drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth. (...)

And there was war in heaven: Michael and His angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceives the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

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So God drove out Satan and a third of the angels, who had been won over to his cause.

Let’s note that the prophetic Word, consistent with its own symbolism, represents here again the angels by the «stars of heaven».

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Job 1:6,7

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them.

And the Lord said to Satan, «From where come you?»

Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, «From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.»

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John 12:31,32

[Jesus said,] «Now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Me.»

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After his rebellion, Satan still had access to heaven.

But he was unquestionably driven out of heaven when Jesus came back after His resurrection, victorious over death and evil.

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Revelation 12:9-11

And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceives the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven,

«Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ: for the accuser of our brothers is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives to the death.»

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By His death on the cross and His resurrection, Jesus Christ has definitively driven Satan out of heaven.

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Revelation 12:9,11,12

And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceives the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. (...)

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives to the death. Therefore rejoice, you heavens, and you that dwell in them!

Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea! For the devil is come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has but a short time.

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Decisively driven out of heaven by the victory of Jesus over death and sin, Satan understood that the countdown to his destruction had begun.

The third trumpet reports what he then did here on earth...

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Revelation 8:10,11

And there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell on the third part of the rivers, and on the fountains of waters.

And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

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Satan is given here the name of «Wormwood».

Wormwood is a plant whose extract is bitter and poisonous. This plant thus perfectly describes Satan and the feelings dwelling in him since he was driven out of heaven.

Now, we see that «the third part of the waters became wormwood». What does that mean?

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Jeremiah 23:11,13,15

For both prophet and priest are profane; yes, in My house have I found their wickedness. (...)

They prophesied in Baal, and caused My people Israel to err. (...)

Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land.

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The water poisoned with wormwood is the punishment given to those who claim to serve God, but who, in fact, apostatized and chose to serve foreign gods, and keep foreign doctrines.

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Jeremiah 9:12-15

«Who is he to whom the mouth of the Lord has spoken, that he may declare it, for what the land perishes and is burned up like a wilderness, that none passes through?»

And the Lord said, «Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice, neither walked therein; but have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them.»

Therefore thus said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, «Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.»

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Here again, the waters poisoned with wormwood punish apostate men who have forsaken God’s commandments.

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Exodus 15:23-25

And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah.

And the people murmured against Moses, saying, «What shall we drink?»

And he cried to the Lord; and the Lord showed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet.

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Whereas the star fallen from heaven made the waters bitter, the opposite process took place for the people of Israel at Marah, when God transformed the bitter water into drinking water.

The continuation of this story will help us to properly understand the message of the third trumpet...

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Exodus 15:25,26

The waters were made sweet.

There [the Lord] made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there He proved them, and said,

«If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and will do that which is right in His sight, and will give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of these diseases on you, which I have brought on the Egyptians.

For I am the Lord that heals you.»

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This story links access to sweet water with the faithfulness of the believer in keeping God’s commandments and in obeying Him in all things.

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John 4:14

[Jesus said,] «Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.»

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Revelation 21:6

I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End.

I will give to him that is thirsty of the fountain of the water of life freely.

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While the waters, turned into wormwood, poison apostate men, the fountain of living water is offered to those who thirst to follow Jesus.

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The fountain of living water is eternal life Jesus offers us:

«And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life: he that comes to Me shall never hunger; and he that believes on Me shall never thirst.”» (John 6:35)

«Jesus stood and cried, saying, “If any man thirst, let him come to Me, and drink. He that believes on Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”» (John 7:37,38)

«The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him that hears say, “Come!” And let him that is thirsty come. And whoever will, let him take the water of life freely.» (Revelation 22:17)

«Therefore with joy shall you draw water out of the wells of salvation.» (Isaiah 12:3)

«Every one that thirsts, come you to the waters, and he that has no money; come you, buy, and eat. (...) Incline your ear, and come to Me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you.» (Isaiah 55:1,3)

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Revelation 8:11

The third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

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Luke 8:11,12

The seed is the word of God.

Those by the way side are they that hear; then comes the devil, and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.

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But Satan doesn’t want people to have access to the fountain of living water.

He aims to poison them with the waters he turned into wormwood.

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Satan is always trying to hide the truth that leads to salvation:

«But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine to them.» (2 Corinthians 4:3,4)

«Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour.» (1 Peter 5:8)

«I send you to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God.» (Acts 26:17,18)

«And the serpent said to the woman, “You shall not surely die.”» (Genesis 3:4)

«But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.» (2 Corinthians 11:3)

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Revelation 6:5,6

When [the Lamb] had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, «Come and see.»

And I beheld, and see a black horse. And he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.

And I heard a voice in the middle of the four beasts say, «A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny.»

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Parallel to the third trumpet, the third seal indicates how Satan managed to poison the waters.

This seal revealed that, following the Edict of Milan in 313, the Church made a lot of doctrinal compromises with surrounding paganism, thus plunging all Europe into a profound spiritual famine.

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Revelation 2:12-15

To the angel of the church in Pergamos write, (...)

«I know your works, and where you dwell, even where Satan’s seat is. (...)

You have there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam. (...) So have you also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate.»

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The letter to the third church, Pergamos, confirms the third seal and the third trumpet.

Know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that you have forsaken the Lord your God.

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Unfortunately, just like the people of Israel, the Church did not respond to the calls to repentance, and preferred foreign waters to God’s living waters.

This choice was «an evil thing and bitter», for those foreign waters were poisoned with Satan’s wormwood.

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So God let men reap the consequences of their choice:

«And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.» (2 Thessalonians 2:11,12)

«“Therefore will I number you to the sword, and you shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, you did not answer; when I spoke, you did not hear; but did evil before My eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not.” Therefore thus said the Lord God, “Behold, My servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry: behold, My servants shall drink, but you shall be thirsty: behold, My servants shall rejoice, but you shall be ashamed.”» (Isaiah 65:12,13)

«Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone.» (Hosea 4:17)

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Revelation 8:11

The third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

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Proverbs 5:3-5

For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: but her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.

Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.

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Eager to taste the pleasures of dominion over the nations, the Church made compromises with paganism.

The waters were thus poisoned with wormwood.

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Deuteronomy 29:16-18

We came through the nations which you passed by; and you have seen their abominations, and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which were among them: lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turns away this day from the Lord our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that bears gall and wormwood.

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God invites us to avoid making the same error as the Church between 313 and 538, and to drink from the fountain of living waters rather than the waters Satan poisoned with wormwood.

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Let’s pray together:

Our Father,

The apostle Paul wrote about those who teach false doctrines, «For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.» (2 Corinthians 11:13,14).

Please always help us to escape the snares of this angel of light, this bright star which turned the waters into wormwood, truth into error.

May we drink only from Your fountain of living waters, so that we may inherit eternal life. In Jesus Christ we pray.